RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat created a flutter when he said rape is mainly prevalent in urban India due to western influence and that such crimes against women do not happen in rural areas of the country.

The remark that came against the backdrop of the Delhi gangrape incident was
slammed by the Congress, CPI-M and women's bodies while the BJP and RSS defended it saying the comment should be taken in proper perspective.

Bhagwat claimed that the incidents of rape were the result of adoption of western culture in society as a whole and that erosion of traditional Indian values were more pronounced in urban areas.

"Crimes against women happening in urban India are shameful. It is a dangerous trend. But such crimes won't happen in Bharat or the rural areas of the country. You go to villages and forests of the country and there will be no such incidents of gangrape or sex crimes," he said at a meeting in Silchar in Assam recently.

"Where 'Bharat' becomes 'India' with the influence of western culture, these type of incidents happen. The actual Indian values and culture should be established at every stratum of society where women are treated as 'mother'," he added.

Demanding that the government take appropriate action to stop rape incidents, he said RSS will support any government initiative to change existing laws.